It’s been two hours since the Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser hit the web and I’ve already lost track of how many times I’ve watched it. There is something magical to this trailer, an excitement not felt since before we knew how terrible the prequels would turn out. Now, it’s time to examine 88 seconds!
While J.J. Abrams tenure at the helm of the Star Trek franchise took that series in an unwelcome direction for Trek purists, the Force Awakens teaser shows that Abrams has a better understanding of what it means to make a Star Wars movie. Abrams always said that he’s a bigger Star Wars fan, so that’s not too surprising. In the 88 seconds, there’s one shot with a small lensflare and that’s it. Hopefully, the other two hours or so of film will have just as few.
The other big part of the trailer that works is that it’s not a straight tribute to the old movies. There’s no narration from the Original Trilogy and we don’t even see Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill or Carrie Fisher. The nostalgia angle seems to be limited just to the ships and the John Williams score.
Speaking of the ships, there’s X-Wings entering the frame like they do in A New Hope and the Millennium Falcon being chased by TIE Fighters like in The Empire Strikes Back. The Falcon does look a little different, since there’s no radar dish. Maybe Han finally gave it some upgrades.
There are two new actors we see. First, John Boyega pops into the frame, exasperated and wearing a Stormtrooper outfit. Later, we see Daisy Ridley on a speeder bike/landspeeder hybrid. There is a hint of a villain, who has a red, three-pronged lightsaber that is - for lack of a better term - super cool.
The Force Awakens won’t hit theaters until Dec. 18, 2015, but this footage gives us some reason to be hopeful.
“There’s been an awakening. Can you feel it?” Yes, we definitely can!
image courtesy of Famous/ACE/INFphoto.com